Hyeok ”Dean” Song

Hyeok “Dean” Song is an automotive and humanoid designer based in Austin, Texas, United States. He is currently an Industrial Design Intern – Humanoid Design at Apptronik, where he has been working since September 2025 on-site in Austin. In this role, he focuses on the design of humanoid robotics, combining industrial design thinking with real-world engineering and product development requirements.

Before joining Apptronik, Dean completed a Creative Design Internship at General Motors from May 2025 to August 2025 in Pasadena, California. His responsibilities included exterior design development, visualisation work, and automotive design using tools such as Adobe Photoshop and Blender. He also served as an Exterior Design Intern at Nissan Motor Corporation from January 2025 to April 2025 in San Diego, California, where he contributed to exterior vehicle styling and concept development.

Dean has over two years of professional experience at KLIO DESIGN in South Korea. From July 2022 to August 2023, he worked full-time as a Designer and Researcher, supporting OEM advanced design research and development, production car design, and autonomous mobility design. Prior to that, he completed a design internship at KLIO DESIGN from June 2021 to July 2022, where his work included the DaeDong GS100 electric scooter production design (with his theme sketch selected), KIA The All New RAY Gravity trim wheel design (final design selected), and Mahindra XUV3XO facelift production design, where his front design theme and component designs were selected for production.

Earlier in his career, Dean worked as a Mobility Design Intern at MOVI Mobility Vision Co. Ltd. in Seoul from November 2020 to March 2021, contributing to electric scooter concepts, mobility concepts, and UI/UX design. In 2019, he also served as a Design Process 2 Teaching Assistant at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.

Dean is currently completing his Bachelor of Science in Transportation Design at ArtCenter College of Design, where he has been enrolled since 2018 and is in his 6th term, with an expected graduation in December 2026.

His core skills include automotive exterior and interior design, humanoid design, autonomous mobility design, CMF design, UX design, visualisation, and product development, using professional tools such as Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Fusion 360, Blender, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator.

Hyeok “Dean” Song is an automotive and humanoid designer based in Austin, Texas, United States. He has built his career through continuous academic training and professional work across the automotive, mobility, robotics, and product design fields, with experience in both industrial production and advanced concept development.

Dean began his formal design education in 2018 when he enrolled in the Bachelor of Science programme in Transportation Design at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. As of 2026, he is in his sixth term of the programme and continues to develop strong technical and design foundations in automotive and mobility systems. In 2019, while studying at ArtCenter, he served as a Design Process 2 Teaching Assistant, supporting coursework and helping students understand structured design development methods, visual communication, and design workflows.

His professional experience started in late 2020 when he joined MOVI Mobility Vision Co. Ltd. in Seoul as a Mobility Design Intern. From November 2020 to March 2021, he worked on electric scooter concepts, mobility concept projects, and UI/UX design tasks, gaining early experience in both physical product design and digital interface development.

In June 2021, Dean joined KLIO DESIGN in South Korea as a Design Intern. During this period, he contributed to several real production projects. His design theme sketch was selected for the DaeDong GS100 electric scooter production model. He also created the final selected wheel design for the KIA The All New RAY Gravity trim and led front design theme development and component design for the Mahindra XUV3XO facelift project. Alongside these production works, he supported OEM advanced design research activities.

In July 2022, he was promoted to full-time Designer and Researcher at KLIO DESIGN, where he remained until August 2023. His work expanded into OEM advanced design research and development, full production car design programmes, and autonomous mobility design projects. During this period, he worked closely with engineering teams and manufacturers, contributing to concept development, production design, and future mobility research.

After returning to the United States to continue his education, Dean secured an Exterior Design Internship with Nissan Motor Corporation in San Diego from January 2025 to April 2025. There he focused on exterior styling development and advanced automotive design work. From May 2025 to August 2025, he joined General Motors in Pasadena as a Creative Design Intern, supporting exterior design, visualisation development, and automotive design projects using professional design software and studio processes.

In September 2025, Dean joined Apptronik in Austin, Texas, as an Industrial Design Intern in Humanoid Design. In this role, he works on the design and development of humanoid robotic systems, contributing to physical form development, functional design integration, and production-focused industrial design solutions.

Throughout his career, Dean has built strong technical skills across automotive exterior and interior design, humanoid design, autonomous mobility systems, CMF design, UI/UX design, visualisation, and production development. He works with industry tools including Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Fusion 360, Blender, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator. His career reflects consistent progression across mobility, automotive, and robotics design, combining academic training with professional production experience in international environments.

Hyeok “Dean” Song’s vision is to design vehicles, mobility systems, and humanoid technologies that improve how people move, work, and interact with the world. He aims to create products that combine practical function, strong engineering understanding, and clear design purpose. His goal is to connect automotive design, autonomous mobility, and humanoid robotics into solutions that serve real human needs in daily life. Through continuous learning, research, and hands-on development, he seeks to contribute to future transportation and robotics systems that are safe, efficient, and accessible, while supporting sustainable growth in global mobility and technology industries.

Hyeok “Dean” Song has received professional recognition through the selection of his design work for real production programmes within the automotive and mobility industry. His design theme sketch was officially selected for the production of the DaeDong GS100 electric scooter, confirming the commercial value of his concept development work. His final wheel design was selected for the KIA The All New RAY Gravity trim, and his front design theme and component designs were chosen for the Mahindra XUV3XO facelift project. These selections represent important acknowledgements of his contribution to international OEM production projects and reflect industry trust in his design skills and technical understanding.